












^>ik ■» 






A 
LINCOLN CORRESPONDENCE 



WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 

BY 

WILLIAM H. LAMBERT 



vr««^v»»*# 




REPRINTED FROM THE CENTURY MAGAZINE 
FOR FEBRUARY, 1909 



COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY THE CENTURY CO. 



E'4S7 



ll&?,hi{'i of COK45RESS 
IwoUoBus hece'ved 

APR 13 ^<»0^ 

CopyriK.ii tntry 



A LINCOLN CORRESPONDENCE 

TWENTY-TWO LETTERS OF HISTORICAL INTEREST HERE 
PUBLISHED FOR THE FIRST TIME 

WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
BY WILLIAM H. LAMBERT 

Major Lambert is the owner of the original letters. 



THESE letters of Abraham Lincoln 
are of interest not alone for their 
authorship, but also because they evidence 
the foresight, sagacity, honesty, and sub- 
ordination of self to the cause of party or 
of country, characteristics which were 
dominant throughout his career and were 
eminently conspicuous during his Presi- 
dency. 

Lyman Trumbull, to whom these letters 
were written, was, during the period cov- 
ered by them, United States Senator from 
Illinois, his colleague in the Senate being 
Stephen A. Douglas. Trumbull was a 
native of Connecticut, born October 12, 
1813. lie had first gone to Georgia, 
where he taught school and studied law, 
subsequently removing to Illinois. While 
still a young man he became identified 
with public affairs in that State. He was 
successively a member of the legislature, 
Secretary of State, Judge of the Supreme 
Court, and in 1854 was elected represen- 
tative in Congress. 

Though a Democrat in politics, like 
many others of his party throughout the 
North he was strongly opposed to the re- 
peal of the Missouri Compromise, which 
was involved in the bill for the Territorial 
organization of Kansas and Nebraska, 
proposed and advocated by Senator Doug- 
las, through whose efforts and influence 
it was enacted. So great was the defec- 
tion in the Democratic party in the North 
because of the passage of the bill that in 
1854, the year of its enactment, the oppo- 
sition, comprising the "Free Soilers," the 
Whigs in greater part, and the "Anti- 
Nebraska" Democrats, triumphed over the 



regular Democracy in the fall elections. 
In Illinois for the first time since the or- 
ganization of the Democratic party it lost 
control of the legislature, and opportunity 
was given for the defeat of General James 
Shields, who sought reelection to the 
United States Senate at the expiration of 
his term in 1855. 

The "Anti-Nebraska" majority in the 
joint session of the legislature was very 
small, and none of the constituent parties 
alone held control, but the Whigs were 
greatly preponderant, and they hoped and 
sought the election of their candidate, 
Abraham Lincoln. Lyman Trumbull 
was the candidate favored by the Anti- 
Nebraska Democrats, who numbered only 
five. On the first ballot Lincoln received 
45 votes. Shields 41, Trumbull 5, and 
there were 8 scattering votes; in succeed- 
ing ballots Lincoln's vote fell to 15, 
Trumbull's rose to 35, and Shields having 
been withdrawn, Governor Matteson, who 
was substituted, received 47. The origi- 
nal supporters of Trumbull persistently 
declined to vote for Lincoln or for any 
Whig; the fifteen Whigs "would never 
desert Lincoln except by his direction." 
Perceiving the probability that protraction 
of the struggle would result in the elec- 
tion of Matteson, Lincoln decided upon 
action which is best described in his own 
language, quoted from his letter written 
February 9, 1855, to the Hon. E. B. Wash- 
burne, a member of Congress from Illi- 
nois. "So I determined to strike at once, 
and accordingly advised my remaining 
friends to go for him [Trumbull], which 
they did, and elected him on the tenth bal- 



618 



THE CENTURY MAGAZINE 



lot. Such is the way the thing was done. 
I think you would have done the same un- 
der the circumstances, though Judge Davis 
[subsequently Associate Justice of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, and 
still later Senator from Illinois], who 
came down this morning, declares he never 
would have consented to the forty-seven 
men being controlled by the five. I re- 
gret my defeat moderately, but I am not 
nervous about it . . . and his [Matte- 
son's] defeat now gives me more pleasure 
than my own gives me pain. On the 
whole, it is perhaps as well for our general 
cause that Trumbull is elected. The Ne- 
braska men confess that they hate it worse 
than anything that could have happened. 
It is a great consolation to see them worse 
whipped than I am." 

After events fully justified Lincoln's 
surmise, and even more. It was better 
that Trumbull was elected, for if Lincoln 
had been, it is not probable that he would 
have been chosen for the Presidency in 
i860. His friends, however, were sorely 
disappointed by his defeat, and long cher- 
ished resentment and distrust of Trum- 
bull, and of Judd, Cook, Palmer, Baker, 
and Allen, the five men whose adherence 
to Trumbull compelled his election. Lin- 
coln was not animated by such feelings, 
and these men became his stanch friends 
and supporters, and were active in the 
formation of the Republican party, in 
which the several Anti-Nebraska factions 
were united. Norman B. Judd as Chair- 
man of the Republican State Committee 
of Illinois was most effective in his advo- 
cacy of Lincoln's nomination for the 
Presidency. John M. Palmer achieved 
high distinction during the war of 1861- 
65, in which he attained the rank of 
major-general and the command of the 
14th Army Corps. Later he was elected 
Governor of his State and United States 
Senator; and by his acceptance of the 
nomination as a candidate for the Presi- 
dency in 1896, he showed the same devo- 
tion to principle that led him to quit his 
party in 1854, when its action was repug- 
nant to his sense of right. 

On the 1 6th of June, 1858, the Republi- 
can State Convention unanimously named 
Lincoln as "the first and only choice of 
the Republicans of Illinois for the United 
States Senate as the successor of Stephen 
A. Douglas," who was seeking reelection; 



and in the fall of that year occurred the 
memorable debate between the opposing 
candidates. Though Lincoln had the 
majority of the popular vote in the ensu- 
ing election, Douglas controlled the 
legislature and was reelected, a result 
due mainly to the system of apportion- 
ment of the legislative districts against 
which Lincoln frequently protested, and 
the rectification of which he considered of 
the utmost importance. 

This second defeat of Lincoln's aspira- 
tion for the senatorship led his friends to 
doubt the loyalty of Trumbull and his 
supporters, who had been Democrats, and 
to look forward to the expiration of his 
senatorial term with intent to elect Lin- 
coln in his stead. With this doubt and 
this purpose Lincoln had no sympathy, 
and he gave Trumbull assurance of his be- 
lief that the senator and his friends had 
heartily supported Lincoln in the recent 
contest, and further that he desired Trum- 
bull's reelection, warning him, however, 
of the danger of affording Lincoln's friends 
any additional ground for suspicion of 
Trumbull's devotion to their leader. 

The complications and controversies 
that resulted from the legislation for 
Kansas and the conduct of affairs there, 
led to antagonism between Senator Doug- 
las and President Buchanan; Northern 
sympathy was largely with Douglas, and 
many Republicans outside of Illinois were 
disposed to favor his reelection to the 
Senate as an effectual rebuke to the ad- 
ministration. Among these was Horace 
Greeley, editor of the "New York Trib- 
une," whose approval of Douglas aroused 
Lincoln's indignation. The plausible doc- 
trine of "Popular Sovereignty" advocated 
by Douglas won the favor of many who 
had hitherto opposed him; but Lincoln 
saw the fallacy of the scheme and during 
the memorable debates denounced it vig- 
orously, and in the Republican platform 
of i860 the doctrine was declared "a 
deception and a fraud." In theory "Pop- 
ular Sovereignty" claimed for the people 
of the Territories the same rights regard- 
ing slavery that were possessed by the 
States, while virtually, under the princi- 
ples enunciated in the Dred Scott decision, 
the people could not exclude slavery. 

Beyond a few notes the following let- 
ters (including two from Trumbull to 
Lincoln) require no further explanation. 



A LINCOLN CORRESPONDENCE 



619 



"Springfield, June 7, 1S56 
*'HoN. Lyman Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: The news of Buchan- 
an's nomination came yesterday; and a 
good many Whigs, of conservative feel- 
ings, and slight pro-slavery proclivities, 
vv^ithal, are inclining to go for him, and 
will do it, unless the Anti-Nebraska nom- 
ination shall be such as to divert them — 
The man to effect that object is Judge 
McLean ; and his nomination would save 
every Whig, except such as have already 
gone over hook and line, as Singleton, 
Morrison, Constable, & others — J. T. 
Stuart, Anthony Thornton, James M. 
Davis (the old settler) and others like 
them, will heartily go for McLean,^ but 
will every one go for Buchanan, as against 
Chase, Banks, Seward, Blair or Fremont 

— I think they would stand Blair or 
Fremont for Vice-President — but not 
more — 

"Now there is a grave question to be 
considered. Nine tenths of the Anti- 
Nebraska votes have to come from old 
Whigs — In setting stakes, is it safe to to- 
tally disregard them? Can we possibly 
win, if we do so? So far they have been 
disregarded — I need not point out the in- 
stances — 

" I think I may trust you to believe I do 
not say this on my own personal account 

— I am in, and shall go for any one 
nominated unless he be 'platformed' ex- 
pressly, or impliedly, on some ground 
which I may think wrong — Since the 
nomination of Bissell ^ we are in good trim 
in Illinois, save at the point I have indi- 
cated — If we can save pretty nearly all 
the Whigs, we shall elect him, I think, by 
a very large majority — 

"I address this to you, because your in- 
fluence in the Anti-Nebraska nomination 
will be greater than that of any other II- 
linoian [sic] — 

"Let this be confidential, 
"Yours very truly 

"A. Lincoln." 

"Springfield, Aug: 1 1. 1856 
"Hon: L. Trumbull: 

"My dear Sir: I have just returned 
from speaking at Paris and Grandview in 
Edgar County— & Charleston and Shelby- 

1 Judge John McLean, Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court of the United States. With Justice Curtis he dissented 
from the majority of the court in the Dred Scott decision. 



ville, in Coles and Shelby counties— Our 
whole trouble along there has been & 
is Fillmoreism— It loosened considerably 
during the week, not under my preaching, 
but under the election returns from Mo. 
Ky. Ark. & N. C. I think we shall ulti- 
mately get all the Fillmore men, who are 
really anti-slavery extension— the rest 
will probably go to Buchanan where 
they rightfully belong; if they do not, so 
much the better for us— The great diffi- 
culty with anti-slavery extension Fillmore 
men, is that they suppose Fillmore as good 
as Fremont on that question ; and it is a 
delicate point to argue them out of it, 
they are so ready to think you are abusing 
Mr. Fillmore— 

"Mr. Conkling showed me a letter of 
yours, from which I infer you will not be 
in Ills, till nth Sept— - 

" But for that I was going to write you 
to make appointments at Paris, Charles- 
ton, Shelbyville, Hillsboro, &c — immedi- 
ately after the adjournment — They were 
tolerably well satisfied with my work 
along there; but they believe with me, 
that you can touch some points that I can 
not; and they are very anxious to have 
you do it — 

"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln." 

"Chicago, Nov. 30. 1857. 
"Hon: Lyman Trumbull. 

"Dear Sir: Herewith you find dupli- 
cates of a notice which I wish to be served 
upon the Miss. French, or now Mrs. 
Gray, who married the late Franklin C. 
Gray — You understand what person I 
mean — Please hand her one copy, and 
note on the other that you have done so, 
the date of service, and your signature & 
return it to me at Springfield — 

"What think you of the probable 
^rumpus' among the Democracy over the 
Kansas Constitution? I think the Re- 
publicans should stand clear of it — In 
their view both the President and Doug- 
las are wrong; and they should not 
espouse the cause of either, because they 
may consider the other a little the farther 
wrong of the two — From what I am told 
here, Douglas tried, before leaving, to 
draw off some Republicans on this dodge, 

2 William H. Bissell, Colonel 2d Illinois Regiment in 
the War with Mexico, member of Congress, Governor 
1857-60. 



620 



THE CENTURY MAGAZINE 



and even succeeded in making some im- 
pression on one or two — 

"Yours very truly, 

"A. Lincoln—" 

"Springfield. Dec. i8. 1857 
"Hon: L. Trumbull: 

"Dear Sir: Yours of the 7th telling me 
that Mrs. Gray is in Washington, 
reached [me] last night — 

"Herewith I return the notices which I 
will thank you to serve and return as be- 
fore requested — 

"This notice is not required by law; 
and I am giving it merely because I think 
fairness requires it — 

"Nearly all the Democrats here stick to 
Douglas; but they are hobbling along 
with the idea that there is no split be- 
tween him and Buchanan— Accordingly 
they indulge the most extravagant eulo- 
gies on B., & his message; and insist that 
he has not indorsed the Lecompton Con- 
stitution — 

" I wish not to tax your time ; but when 
you return the notice, I shall be glad to 
have your general view of the then pres- 
ent aspect of affairs — 

"Yours very truly 

"A. Lincoln" 

"Bloomington, Dec. 28. 1857 — 
"Hon. Lyman Trumbull. 

"Dear Sir: What does the 'New York 
Tribune' mean by its constant eulogising, 
and admiring, and magnifying Douglas? 
Does it, in this, speak the sentiments of 
the Republicans at Washington ? Have they 
concluded that the Republican cause, gen- 
erall}', can be best promoted by sacrificing 
us here in Illinois? If so we would like 
to know it soon ; it will save us a great 
deal of labor to surrender at once — 

"As yet I have heard of no Republican 
here going over to Douglas; but if the 
'Tribune' continues to din his praises into 
the ears of its five or ten thousand Re- 
publican readers in Illinois, it is more 
than can be hoped that all will stand 
firm — 

"I am not complaining — I only wish a 
fair understanding — Please write me at 
Springfield — 

"Your Obt Servt. 

"A. Lincoln—" 

1 Wentworth familiarly known as " Long John " because of his height — six feet, seven inches. Journalist, member 
of Congress 1843-51, 1853-55, 1865-67 j Mayor of Chicago in 1857, and again in i860. 



"Springfield, June 23, 1858 
"Hon. Lyman Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: Your letter of the i6th 
reached me only yesterday — We had al- 
ready seen, by telegraph, a report of 
Douglas' general onslaught upon every 
body but himself — I have this morning 
seen the 'Washington Union,' in which I 
think the Judge is rather worsted in re- 
gard to that onslaught — 

"In relation to the charge of an alli- 
ance between the Republicans and Bu- 
chanan men in this State, if being rather 
pleased to see a division in the ranks of 
the Democracy, and not doing anything to 
prevent it, be such alliance, then there is 
such alliance — at least that is true of me 
— But if it be intended to charge that 
there is any alliance by which there is to 
be any concession of principle on either 
side, or furnishing of the sinews, or parti- 
tion of offices, or swopping of votes, to 
any extent; or the doing of anything, 
great or small, on the one side, for a con- 
sideration, express or implied, on the 
other, no such thing is true so far as I 
know or believe — 

"Before this reaches you, you will have 
seen the proceedings of our Republican 
State Convention — It was really a grand 
affair, and was, in all respects, all that our 
friends could desire — 

"The resolution in effect nominating 
me for Senator I suppose was passed more 
for the object of closing down upon this 
everlasting croaking about Wentworth ^ 
than anything else — 

"The signs look reasonably well — Our 
State ticket, I think, will be elected with- 
out much difficulty — But, with the ad- 
vantages they have of us, we shall be very 
hard run to carry the- Legislature — 

"We shall greet your return home with 
great pleasure — 

"Yours very truly 

"A. Lincoln." 

"Springfield, J any 2Q. 1859 
"Hon: L. Trumbull 

"Dear Sir: I have just received your 
late speech, in pamphlet form, sent me by 
yourself — I had seen, and read it, before, 
in a newspaper; and I really think it is a 
capital one — 

"When you can find leisure, write me 



A LINCOLN CORRESPONDENCE 



621 



your present impressions of Douglas' 
movements — Our friends here from dif- 
ferent parts of the State, in and out of the 
Legislature, are united, resolute, and de- 
termined ; and I think it is almost certain 
that we shall be far better organized for 
i860 than ever before — 

"We shall get no just apportionment; 
and the best we can do, (if we can even 
do that) is to prevent one being made 
worse than the present — 

"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln — " 

Washington, Jany. 28, 1859. 

Hon. a. Lincoln, 

My Dear Sir, I have been shown the copy of 
an article said to have been prepared by Col. 
John Wentworth for publication in the " Chi- 
cago Journal," the object of which evidently 
is to stir up bad feeling between Republicans 
who were formerly Whigs & those who were 
Democrats, & more especially to create prej- 
udice against myself & the Democratic portion 
of the party — The article is an insiduous 
one & well calculated to do mischief with 
those who do not understand facts as well as 
vou & I do — It contains a number of state- 
ments utterly false but mixed up with others 
which are true & so colored as to give an en- 
tirely wrong impression to the uninformed 
reader — The article professes to be a justi- 
fication by Charles Wilson. Esq. for having 
nominated you as a candidate for Senator in 
the Republican Convention, but this is a 
mere pretense to get at something else — It 
seems that Wilson refused to publish the 
article, but the substance of it will probably 
be published in some way by its author — 

I hope you have seen it, if not I will 
furnish you a copy. It is a despicably mean 
thing and just such an act as it would take a 
man of Wentworth [sic] reputed character 
to be guilty of — I never had much to do 
with Wentworth & really know personally 
but little about him, but it is right that friends 
like you & I should not permit any person 
whatever his motive to stir up unfounded 
suspicions & bad feelings between our 
friends, & to prevent it effectually it is only 
necessary that we see they are not imposed 
upon by designing mischief making persons. 
It needs no assurance from me, to satisfy you 
of the entire good faith with which Messrs. 
Judd, Cook, & others as well as myself who 
are assailed in this article worked for your 

1 Graham N. Fitch, Senator from Indiana, a Democrat 



success in the late canvass — I am so con- 
stituted as to be incapable of practicing dis- 
guise & deceit if I would & now write you 
with that frankness & candor which is so 
characteristic of your course towards every- 
body. 

The Democracy here are very much de- 
moralized & broken down. They are at- 
tempting to get up a new issue on the Cuba 
question. What think you of that matter ? 
Of course we Republicans can never consent 
to putting thirty millions in the hands of 
Buchanan m the present state of things, but 
can our opponents gain anything by the at- 
tempt which they will make to put themselves 
for & us against the acquisition of Cuba — I 
am inclined not to place myself against Cuba 
under any & all contingencies, but against 
this foolish, & unjust attempt to acquire her 
at this time — Douglas looks badly & is not 
the big man in the Senate he was two years 
ago — The Fitch ^ matter I think has damaged 
him with the shoulder hitters & [rowdies ? ]^ 
his chief supporters — 

Truly yours 

L. Trumbull. 

"Springfield, Feb. 3. 1859 
"Hon. L. Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: Yours of the 29th is re- 
ceived — The article mentioned by you, 
prepared for the 'Chicago Journal,' I have 
not seen ; nor do I wish to see it, though I 
heard of it a month, or more, ago — Any 
effort to put enmity between you and 
me, is as idle as the wind — I do not 
for a moment doubt that you, Judd, Cook, 
Palmer, and the Republicans generally, 
coming from the old Democratic ranks, 
were as sincerely anxious for my suc- 
cess in the late contest, as I myself, and 
the old Whig Republicans were — And I 
beg to assure you, beyond all possible 
cavil, that you can scarcely be more anx- 
ious to be sustained two years hence than 
I am that you shall be so sustained — I can 
not conceive it possible for me to be a ri- 
val of yours, or to take sides against you 
in favor of any rival — Nor do I think 
there is much danger of the old Demo- 
cratic and Whig elements of our party 
breaking into opposing factions — They 
certainly shall not, if I can prevent it. 

"I do not perceive that there is any 
feeling here about Cuba; and so I think, 
you can safely venture to act upon your 

opposed to Douglas. 2 Uncertain as to thit word. 



622 



THE CENTURY MAGAZINE 



own judgment upon any phase of it which 
may be presented — 

"The H. R.^ passed an apportionment 
bill yesterday— slightly better for [us] 
than the present in the Senate districts; 
but perfectly outrageous in the H. R. dis- 
tricts — It can be defeated without any 
revolutionary movement, unless the ses- 
sion be prolonged. 

"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln" 



"Springfield, Nov. 28, 1859 
"Hon. L. Trumbull. 

"My dear Sir: Yours of the 23rd is re- 
ceived — I agree with you entirely about 
the contemplated election of Forney ^ — 
Nothing could be more short-sighted than 
to place so strong a man as Forney in 
position to keep Douglas on foot — I 
know nothing of Forney personally ; but I 
would put no man in position to help our 
enemies in the point of our hardest 
strain — 

"There is nothing new here — I have 
written merely to give my view about 
this Forney business. 

"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln" 



"Springfield, Dec. 25, 1859 
"Hon. Lyman Trumbull 

"Dear Sir: About the 15th by direction 
of Mr. Judd, I sent a letter and inclosures 
to him, addressed to your care ; and I have 
not yet learned whether he received it — 

"I have carefully read your speech; and 
I judge that, by the interruptions, it came 
out a much better speech than you ex- 
pected to make when you began — It 
really is an excellent one, many of the 
points being most admirably made — 

"I was in the inside of the Post-Office 
last evening when a mail came bringing a 
considerable number of your documents; 
and the Post-Master said to me 'These 
will be put in the boxes, and half will 
never be called for; If Trumbull would 
send them to me I would distribute a hun- 
dred to where he will get ten distributed 
this way' — 

1 House of Representatives of the Illinois legislature. 

2 John W. Forney strenuously supported Douglas in 
his opposition to the Kansas policy of President Buchanan, 
was clerk of the National House of Representatives in 
1851-55, and again in 1859. He became an ardent 



"I said, 'shall I write this to Trum- 
bull?' — He replied 'If you choose you 
may' — I believe he was sincere; but you 
will judge of that for yourself — 
"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln" 

"Springfield, Mar. 16, i860 
"Hon: L. Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: When I first saw by the 
despatches that Douglas had run from the 
Senate while you were speaking I did not 
quite understand it; but seeing by the re- 
port that you were cramming down his 
throat that infernal stereotyped lie of his 
about 'negro equality' the thing became 
plain — 

"Another matter — Our friend Dela- 
hay ^ wants to be one of the Senators from 
Kansas — Certainly it is not for outsiders 
to obtrude their interference — Dela- 
hay has suffered a great deal in our cause, 
and been very faithful to it, as I under- 
stand — He writes me that some of the 
members of the Kansas Legislature have 
written you in a way that your simple 
answer might help him — I wish you 
would consider whether you can not as- 
sist him that far, without impropriety — I 
know it is a delicate matter ; and I do not 
wish to press you beyond your own judg- 
ment — 

"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln—" 

"Chicago, March 26, i860 
"Hon: L. Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: They are having a des- 
perate struggle in Connecticut * ; and it 
would both please, and help our friends 
there, if you could be with them in the 
last days of the fight — Having been 
there, I know they are proud of you as a 
son of their own soil, and would be moved 
to greater exertion by your presence 
among them — 

"Can you not go? Telegraph them, and 
go right along — The fiendish attempt 
now being made upon Connecticut, must 
not be allowed to succeed, 
"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln" 

Republican and was Secretary of the Senate in 
1861-68. 

3 Mark W. Delahay, later United States District Judge. 

•* After his speech at the Cooper Institute, February 27, 
i860, Lincoln spent several days in Connecticut. 



A LINCOLN CORRESPONDENCE 



623 



"Springfield, Ills. April 7, i860 
"Hon: L. Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: Reaching home from 
Chicago, where I have been engaged two 
weeks in the trial of a lawsuit, I found 
your letter of March 26th. 

"Of course you can do no better for 
Delahay than you promise — I am trying 
to keep out of the contest among our 
friends for the Gubernatorial nomination ; 
but from what I hear, the result is in con- 
siderable doubt — 

"We have just had a clear party vic- 
tory in our City election ; and our friends 
are more encouraged, and our enemies 
more cowed by it, than by anything since 
the organrzation of the Republican party 
— Last year we carried the city; but we 
did it, not by our own strength, but by an 
open feud among our enemies — This 
year their feud was healed ; and we beat 
them fairly by main strength — 

"I can scarcely give an opinion as to 
what effect a nomination of Judge Mc- 
Lean, by the Union Convention,^ would 
have — I do not believe he would accept 
it; and if he did, that fact alone, I think, 
would shut him out of the Chicago Con- 
vention — If he were ten years younger 
he would be our best candidate — 
"Yours as ever 

"J. Lincoln" 



Washington April 24, 1860. 

Hon. a, Lincoln, 

My Dear Sir, I am going to write you can- 
didly & frankly my impressions in regard to 
the Presidency, for such I know is the way 
you would desire me to speak, & I shall hope 
in return to be put fully in possession of your 
views — First in regard to yourself — 

My impression is as between you & Gov- 
Seward, if the contest should assume that 
shape, that he would most likely succeed — I 
will not go into calculation to show this, but 
I have talked it over with friends here & that 
seems to be the impression even of those 
who do not want Seward nominated — When 
urging your claims, I am almost always met 
with the saying — " if you are going to nom- 
inate a man of that stamp why not take 
Seward ? ' ' There seems to be a disposition in 
the public-mind to associate you together, 
from the fact, I suppose, that you have both 



given expression to a similar sentiment in re- 
gard to the ultimate extinction of slavery — 

It matters not whether there is any founda- 
tion for this or not, I am not arguing 
the matter, but simply stating what others 
say — 

Second — Can Seward be elected if nom- 
inated ? The impression here is among all 
except his warm friends that he can not — The 
delegations from Conn. & R. I. say he would 
lose both States, & so far as I know those 
from N. J., Pa., except Cameron, & Indiana 
express the same opinion in regard to their 
States, & I must confess the letters I am 
daily receiving from Central & South 111. 
lead me to doubt if he could carry our 
State— 

We shall certainly run a great risk if he is 
the nominee — Under such circumstances it 
seems to me clear that he should not be nom- 
inated — 

3 — The next question is can his nomina- 
tion be prevented & if so how — The im- 
pression here is that Judge McLean is 
probably the only man who could succeed 
as against Seward. After Cameron he seems 
to be the choice of Pa. & I suppose Ohio 
would support him after Chase — Would our 
State go for him in the convention after you, 
& if nominated could he carry 111. ? There 
seems to be a good deal of feeling for Bates 
in Central & South Illinois ; would the same 
men go for McLean if nominated ? Of 
course you know McLean's age, infirmities 
& the objections which would be raised to 
him — 

Bates, I do not think could get the nomi- 
nation as against Seward — The Germans 
are opposed to him — Neither Pa., N.J. or 
Ohio could be carried for him entire as against 
Seward, nor do I suppose 111. could, nor 
do I mean to say that these States would cer- 
tainly go for McLean in such a contingency, 
but am giving impressions here — 

Now I wish you to understand that I am 
for you first & foremost, want our State to 
send not only delegates instructed in your 
favor, but your friends who will stand by & 
nominate you if possible, never faltering un- 
less you yourself shall so advise ; but we are 
engaged in a great contest which ought not 
to be put to hazard from personal considera- 
tions in any quarter — 

Of course Mr. McLean can only be taken 
up as a compromise Candidate — He would 



1 Held on May 9 and 10, i860, nominated John Bell for the Presidency on the second ballot. 
Judge McLean received 21 votes on the first ballot. 



624 



THE CENTURY MAGAZINE 



have no votes to start with — From what I 
have written you will readily see, that I am 
inclined to favor this McLean movement, 
which is daily gaining strength & even now 
looks formidable ; but I want to know your 
views — I have talked with my Republican 
colleagues, & they all agree that we may ul- 
timately have to take McLean & that it would 
be very hazardous to take Seward. 

My impression is that [if] McLean were 
nominated [he] would be elected — Pa. some 
of the members here say, would be sure for 
him by Fifty thousand, & carrying that State 
would doubtless elect him — I think there are 
half a dozen men whom we could elect, if 
they were nominated, but I do not see how 
their nomination is to be brought about. 

[Not signed, but in Lyman 
Trumbull's autograph.] 



"Springfield, April 2Q, i860 
"Hon: L. Trumbull: 

"My dear Sir: Yours of the 24th was 
duly received ; and I have postponed 
answering it, hoping by the result at 
Charleston, to know who is to lead our 
adversaries, before writing — But Charles- 
ton hangs fire, and I wait no longer ^ — 

"As you request, I will be entirely frank 
— The taste is in my mouth a little ; and 
this, no doubt, disqualifies me, to some ex- 
tent, to form correct opinions. You may 
confidently rely, however, that by no 
advice or consent of mine, shall my pre- 
tentions be pressed to the point of endan- 
gering our common cause — 

"Now, as to my opinions about the 
chances of others in Illinois — I think nei- 
ther Seward ^ nor Bates ^ can carry Illinois 
if Douglas shall be on the track; and that 
either of them can, if he shall not be — I 
rather think McLean could carry it with 
D. on or off — in other words, I think 
McLean is stronger in Illinois, taking all 
sections of it, than either S. or B ; and I 
think S. the weakest of the three. I hear no 
objection to Mr. McLean, except his age* ; 
but that objection seems to occur to every 
one; and it is possible it might leave him 
no stronger than the others — By the way, 

1 The National Democratic Convention met at Charles- 
ton, April 23, i860, and adjourned May 3 to meet at 
Baltimore, June 18, having made no nominations. A 
large number of the delegates from the Southern States, 
having previously withdrawn, organized a convention that 
adjourned to meet at Richmond on June 1 1 . 



if we should nominate him, how would 
we save to ourselves the chance of filling 
his vacancy in the Court? Have him hold 
on up to the moment of his inauguration? 
Would that course be no draw-back upon 
us in the canvass? 

"Recurring to Illinois, we want some- 
thing here quite as much as, and which is 
harder to get than, the electoral vote — the 
Legislature — And it is exactly in this 
point that Seward's nomination would be 
hard upon us. Suppose he should gain us 
a thousand votes in Winnebago, it would 
not compensate for the loss of fifty in Ed- 
gar— 

"A word now for your own special 
benefit — You better write no letters 
which can possibly be distorted into oppo- 
sition, or quasi opposition to me — There 
are men on the constant watch for such 
things out of which to prejudice my pe- 
culiar friends against you — 

"While I have no more suspicion of 
you than I have of my best friend living, I 
am kept in a constant struggle against 
suggestions of this sort — I have hesitated 
some to write this paragraph, lest you 
should suspect I do It for my own benefit, 
and not for yours ; but on reflection I con- 
clude you win not suspect me — 

"Let no eye but your own see this — not 
that there Is anything wrong, or even un- 
generous, in it; but it would be miscon- 
strued — 

"Your friend as ever 

"A. Lincoln" 



' PRIVATE 

"Springfield, May I, i860 
"Hon: L. Trumbull 

"Dear Sir: In my last letter to you I 
believe I said I thought Mr. Seward 
would be weaker In Illinois than Mr. 
Bates— I write this to qualify the opin- 
ion so far as to say I think S. weaker than 
B. In our close Legislative districts; but 
probably not weaker taking the whole 
State over — 

"We now understand that Douglas 

2 William Heniy Seward, Senator from New York, 
Lincoln's strongest opponent for the Presidential nomina- 
tion, and later his Secretary of State. 

3 Edward Bates of Missouri, appointed Attorney-Gen- 
eral by Lincoln. 

* Judge McLean was then in his seventy-sixth year. 



A LINCOLN CORRESPONDENCE 



625 



will be nominated to-day by what is left 
of the Charleston Convention — 

"All parties here dislike it— Republi- 
cans and Danites,^ that he should be nom- 
inated at all; and Doug. Dem's that he 
should not be nominated by an undivided 
Convention — 

"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln" 

"Springfield, May 26, i860 
"Hon: L. Trumbull: 

''My dear Sir: I have received three 
letters from you since the nomination,- for 
all which I sincerely thank you — As you 
say, if we can not get our State up now, I 
do not see when we can — 

"The nominations start well here, and 
everywhere else, so far as I have heard — 
We may have a back-set yet — Give my 
respects to the Republican Senators; and 
especially to Mr. Hamlin, Mr. Seward, 
Gen. Cameron, and Mr. Wade — Also to 
your good wife — 

"Write again ; and do not write so 
short letters as I do — 

"Your friend, as ever 

"J. Lincoln" 

"Springfield, Ills. May 31, i860 
"Hon. L. Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: Yours of the 28th, in- 
closing that which I have carefully read, 
and now return, is received — Please say 
to Mr. Hamlin that my letter of accep- 
tance is already written and forwarded to 
Mr. Ashmun,^ at Springfield, Mass; that 
I would send him, Mr. Hamlin, a copy, 
only that Mr. Ashmun, when here, sought 
and obtained a promise from me that I 
would furnish a copy to no one ; that the 
letter is very short, and, I think, conflicts 
with none of Mr. Morey's suggestions, 
except that it may be published by Mr. 
Ashmun before the Baltimore Conven- 
tion. Perhaps it would be best for Mr. 
Hamlin and yourself not to communicate 
the fact that the letter of acceptance is al- 
ready written — I am glad to learn the 

1 Danites, a secret association of Mormons pledged 
to obey the dictates of their church ; the name was popu- 
larly applied in Illinois to the faction of Administration 
Democrats who opposed Douglas. 

2 Lincoln was nominated for President at Chicago, May 
18, i860, and Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice- 
President. 



Philadelphia meeting had force enough to 
not be spoiled by the storm — I look with 
great interest for your letters now. 
"Your friend as ever, 

"A. Lincoln" 

"Springfield, Ills. June 5, i860 
"Hon. L. Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: Yours of May 31, in- 
closing Judge Read's letter,* is received — 

"I see by the papers this morning, that 
Mr. Fillmore ^ refuses to go with us. 
What do the New-Yorkers at Washing- 
ton think of this? Gov. Reeder was here 
last evening direc^t from Pennsylvania — 
He is entirely confident of that State, 
and of the general result — I do not re- 
member to have heard Gen. Cameron's 
opinion of Penn — Weed ^ was here, and 
saw me ; but he showed no signs whatever 
of the intriguer — He asked for nothing; 
and said N. Y. is safe, without condition. 

"Remembering that Peter denied his 
Lord with an oath, after most solemnly 
protesting that he never would, I will not 
swear I will make no committals; but I 
do think I will not — 

"Write me often — I look with great 
interest for your letters now. 
"Yours as ever, 

"A. Lincoln" 

The following autographic document 
begins with a memorandum in Ljman 
Trumbull's handwriting, which we itali- 
cize to distinguish it from the remainder, 
which is in Lincoln's handwriting: 

"Furnished by Mr. Lincoln t^ copied into 
my remarks to be made at the celebra- 
tion at Springfield, III. Nov. 20, i860" 

"I have labored in, and for, the Republi- 
can organization w^ith entire confidence 
that whenever it shall be in power, each 
and all of the States will be left in as com- 
plete control of their own affairs respec- 
tively, and at as perfect liberty to choose, 
and employ, their own means of protect- 
ing property, and preserving peace and 

3 George Ashmun of Massachusetts, Chairman of the 
Republican National Convention. 

* Judge Read of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. 

5 Millard Fillmore the former President. Candidate 
for the Presidency in 1856 against Buchanan and Fre- 
mont. 

6 Thurlow Weed, the New York journalist and poli- 
tician, the stanch friend and supporter of Seward. 



626 



THE CENTURY MAGAZINE 



order within their respective limits, as 
they have ever been under any administra- 
tion — Those who have voted for Mr. 
Lincoln, have expected, and still expect 
this; and they would not have voted for 
him had they expected otherwise— I re- 
gard it as extremely fortunate for the 
peace of the whole country, that this 
point, upon which the Republicans have 
been so long, and so persistently misrep- 
resented, is now to be brought to a practi- 
cal test, and placed beyond the possibility 
of doubt — Disunionists per se, are now 
in hot haste to get out of the Union, pre- 
cisely because they perceive they can not, 
much longer, maintain apprehension 
among the Southern people that their 
homes, and firesides, and lives, are to be 
endangered by the action of the Federal 
Government— With such 'Now, or 
never is the maxim — 

"I am rather glad of this military prep- 
aration in the South— It will enable the 
people the more easily to suppress any up- 
risings there, which their misrepresenta- 
tions of purposes may have encouraged — " 

PRIVATE, & CONFIDENTIAL 

"Springfield. Ills. Dec. lO. i860 
"Hon. L. Trumbull. 

"My dear Sir. Let there be no com- 
promise on the question of extending slav- 
ery — If there be, all our labor is lost, 
and, ere long, must be done again — The 
dangerous ground — that into which 
some of our friends have a hankering to 
run — is Pop. Sov — Have none of it — 
Stand firm. The tug has to come, & bet- 
ter now than any time hereafter ^ — 
"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln." 

1 Lincoln was elected November 6, i860. Threats of 
secession of Southern States were rife, the people throughout 
the Northern and in many of the Southern States were 
anxiously striving to check the secession movement, offers 
of compromise were urged, many public meetings were 
held which favored liberal concessions. Reaction seemed 
to be setting in, and many who had helped to elect Lincoln 
seemed to repent ; but whoever else was shaken, he was not. 

2 Benjamin F. Wade, Senator from Ohio, later pre- 



CONFIDENTIAL 

"Springfield, Ills. Dec. 17. i860 
"Hon. Lyman Trumbull 

"My dear Sir: Yours inclosing Mr. 
Wade's ^ letter, which I herewith return, 
is received — 

"If any of our friends do prove false, 
and fix up a compromise on the territorial 
question, I am for fighting again — that is 
all — It is but repetition for me to say I 
am for an honest inforcement of the Con- 
stitution — fugitive slave clause included — 

" Mr. Gilmer ^ of N. C. wrote me ; and 
I answered confidentially, inclosing my 
letter to Gov. Corwin, to be delivered or 
not, as he might deem prudent — I now 
inclose you a copy of it — " 

[The signature has been cut off — probably 
for an autograph-seeker] 



"Springfield, Ills. Dec, 24, i860 
"Hon. Lyman Trumbull 

"My dear Sir 1 expect to be able to 
offer Mr. Blair * a place in the cabinet ; 
but I can not, as yet, be committed on the 
matter, to any extent whatever — 

"Despatches have come here two days 
in succession, that the Forts in South Car- 
olina will be surrendered by the order, or 
consent at least, of the President ^ — 

"I can scarcely believe this; but if it 
prove true, I will, if our friends at Wash- 
ington concur, announce publicly at once 
that they are to be retaken after the inau- 
guration — This will give the Union Men 
a rallying cry, and preparation will pro- 
ceed somewhat on their side, as well as on 
the other — 

"Yours as ever 

"A. Lincoln." 

siding officer of the Senate after Johnson's accession to the 
Presidency. 

3 John A. Gilmer, member of Congress from North 
Carolina, had been Whig candidate for Governor, but was 
defeated. He was suggested for Lincoln's cabinet. 

■* Montgomery Blair, subsequently Postmaster-Gen- 
eral. 

5 South Carolina passed its ordinance of secession, De- 
cember 20, i860. 




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